I use the 418 about three hours a day, seven days a week. It takes a pair of AA batteries, which gives fairly good playing time. However, I use two pairs of NIMH rechargeable batteries interchangeably -- I change the batteries after every three hour session, which maximizes battery longevity...

The radio is good but not as good as that of the 779 nor of the 88V -- its more sensitive to antenna orientation and it doesn't hold fringe stations as strongly.

Like my previous AIWA, the preset station memory seems to last even if battery power is absent. The memory setting process is about like that of other cassette stereo players -- tedious enough that you don't want to do it more than once a year, if that often.

You can preset 20 FM and 10 AM stations. There are two FM ranges of 10 presets each. Its all too much for me, as I only use 5 stations per range -- so I set the 5 stations twice in each range in the same order so that I never lose my way when I'm using the remote without seeing the LCD panel.

The tape player is adequate except over rough terrain, when it skips and wobbles -- I've never encountered that problem with a portable tape player before. It doesn't happen with the other two units mentioned above. This might be a problem for a jogger.

Although it's convenient to change batteries in this unit, one thing to watch out for is the plastic piece in the body which the battery compartment door latch engages. The previous 779 used the same mechanism, and that piece of plastic broke after about a year and a half of use so that I had to use a rubber band around the body to hold the battery cover in place. If possible, I would suggest carrying it so that the longest dimension is horizontal rather than vertical -- this takes some of the pressure off of the battery compartment cover and its latch piece.

The remote, which I use extensively, is pretty good but like similar units might be trying for someone with large fingers or for anyone with gloves (me 6 months out of the year). The remote seems easier to use than the on-unit controls, although the latter have more functions, including a button for repeating tape phrases and an S-Bass setting -- neither of which I have ever used.

The nearly twice as expensive Panasonic 88V is better in almost all features (except it only uses one AA battery), but it has a fatal flaw: I use the unit in conjunction with a radio powered remote dog trainer, and the Panasonic remote control switches stations/tape directions whenever I use the dog trainer remote! The AIWA remote is immune to this problem.

I don't use the included "neck" earphones but rather a set of Sony earbuds instead. There is no strap or carrying case included, nor would I expect one at this price. It is the same size as the other two units mentioned above, but it has rounded corners which make it easier to put into and take out of a pocket or other carrying spot -- unlike the Panasonic 88V, which has a very ungainly tape compartment latching knob that gets caught in fabric. The body is thin gauge aluminum, which is light and reasonably dent-resistent, although I've managed to acquire one dent and numerous scratches because of how I carry the unit in a waist-pack with assorted hardware.

When battery power is too weak for tape operation, the unit does NOT chew up the tape like the previous AIWA unit -- it just produces sickly sound quality and eventually stops working.

Obviously I give it heavy use and it holds up reasonably well.

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